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Archy McNally #7
McNally's Gamble
Playboy sleuth Archy McNally, returns in an enticing novel of sun and sin in Palm Beach --- where the rich count their schemes before they're hatched. Well-to-do widow Edythe Westmore has announced her intent to invest a large part of her fortune in a Faberge Imperial egg. Horrified, her children argue against the financial risk --- and enlist Archy's services to put the kibosh on the deal. But when the sleuth sticks his nose in the widow's business --- closely watched by family and friends --- the whole case begins to smell like a rotten egg ... but much harder to crack.
358 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
183 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Sanders
160 books372 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Lawrence Sanders was the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty mystery and suspense novels. The Anderson Tapes, completed when he was fifty years old, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His prodigious oeuvre encompasses the Edward X. Delaney, Archy McNally, and Timothy Cone series, along with his acclaimed Commandment books. Stand-alone novels include Sullivan's Sting and Caper. Sanders remains one of America’s most popular novelists, with more than fifty million copies of his books in print. Also published as Mark Upton.
Lawrence Sanders was the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty mystery and suspense novels. The Anderson Tapes, completed when he was fifty years old, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His prodigious oeuvre encompasses the Edward X. Delaney, Archy McNally, and Timothy Cone series, along with his acclaimed Commandment books. Stand-alone novels include Sullivan's Sting and Caper. Sanders remains one of America’s most popular novelists, with more than fifty million copies of his books in print. Also published as Mark Upton.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
June 2, 2021
Out-scamming The Scammers!
Edyth Westmore is a client of McNally and Son. When she is approached by dubious “investment” advisers, as her attorney, Daddy McNally wants them scrutinized. Thoroughly!
“Flim and Flam” wants her to invest in the purchase of a Faberge’ Egg. Is it authentic? Does it really exist?
No problem. Archie McNally’s on the situation. It takes a scammer to know a scammer and the swindlers haven’t a clue.
Edyth Westmore is a client of McNally and Son. When she is approached by dubious “investment” advisers, as her attorney, Daddy McNally wants them scrutinized. Thoroughly!
“Flim and Flam” wants her to invest in the purchase of a Faberge’ Egg. Is it authentic? Does it really exist?
No problem. Archie McNally’s on the situation. It takes a scammer to know a scammer and the swindlers haven’t a clue.
September 1, 2021
A quick, easy and interesting read!
March 2, 2009
I liked the charming main character, but it was funny how this 1997 novel had certain features which dated it terribly--like how everyone marvelled about a hotel that had caller I.D. that helped catch some kidnappers--Wow!
March 13, 2010
McNally is a bad boy, but I can't help but like him anyway. Connie, his girlfriend, seems too smart to put up with his nonsense. But then, I'm putting up with him too, and expect to read another McNally book when escapism becons. Probably soon.
April 20, 2021
Whacko, wild, wonderful - bedazzled by women, money, food, clothes and trouble, ya gotta love Archy McNally. Just a crazy spoof that proves “.....only in Florida.”
I have read all of Lawrence Sanders books many, many years ago, he was one of the best. I found this one at my Little Free Library and couldn’t resist a reread. Just as good 30 years later. Never thought I’d be living here!
Loved the Faberge angle. Of course I had to Google it for more info, and yes Forbes did own many of them. So beautiful and so valuable, I had no idea. The story of the eggs was as good as the book!
I have read all of Lawrence Sanders books many, many years ago, he was one of the best. I found this one at my Little Free Library and couldn’t resist a reread. Just as good 30 years later. Never thought I’d be living here!
Loved the Faberge angle. Of course I had to Google it for more info, and yes Forbes did own many of them. So beautiful and so valuable, I had no idea. The story of the eggs was as good as the book!
July 14, 2021
Well written, but I must admit, I was disappointed with the ending. What I thought would be a character arc turned out to be an illusion. The writing style and humor made it a fun read. But nothing more.
October 27, 2022
i picked up this book from our school's library after reading chapter 2 and Oscar Wilde was mentioned i did not hesitate to grab the book home. the powerful opening line to this book:
"Here's an anecdote you may find difficult to believe."
"Here's an anecdote you may find difficult to believe."
February 26, 2025
It's been some (a lot of) years since I last read a McNally's novel. I remember Archy as a beloved main character.
I can't say the plot was intriguing or that it had me on the edge but it was nice.
The narrator did a wonderful job.
I can't say the plot was intriguing or that it had me on the edge but it was nice.
The narrator did a wonderful job.
June 1, 2021
Six-word Review: McNally uncovers a Faberge Egg con.
Longer review later.
Longer review later.
September 27, 2020
Another delightful romp with our over-the-top investigator. I read one review with the scathing comment about Archy's vocabulary. There is another author that I read that uses huge words that no normal person would use in every-day conversation. And I admit that I find that annoying. But Archy? It's part of his over-the-top personality. You would expect a bon vivant who wears a lavender sportscoat to use and equally flamboyant vocabulary. He's not doing it to sound erudite, he's doing it to get a laugh. And I do have to laugh, especially when he says, "Go ahead, look it up. I know you're going to." Of course, there had to be a murder, but this one was a long time in coming. And poor Archy's glands were once again out of control. But for all his shenanigans, the fellow really is pretty clever, though sometimes I do cotton something before he does. And he is not afraid to put his life on the line to save the day.
March 16, 2011
Another very fun Archy McNally tale. Unfortunately the last "real" McNally book. Since I've already read one of the others, I know they are a huge step down and aren't worthy of reading. I may have enjoyed this one more because I knew it was the last and it was very refreshing to return to the characters as Sanders wrote them. I can't help but wonder if he approved the books written by the other guy who distorted and twisted his characters unabashedly. Shame. These books did get a little formulaic, so I guess I see why Sanders gave them up.
January 11, 2018
তেমন সুবিধার না। ম্যাকন্যালি সিরিজের প্রথম ৬ বই যেমন জমেছিল, এ বই তার ধারের কাছেও আসে নাই। স্যান্ডার্সের চির পরিচিত হিউমার, উইট, কমিক রিলিফ আছে, কিন্তু রহস্য জমে নাই। কোন টুইস্ট নাই। গল্পের প্রথমেই ভিলেনকে চিহ্নিত করে ফেলেছে, আর গোটা গল্পে ধীরে সুস্থে, আরামসে একটু একটু করে ভিলেনদের ধর পাকড় করেছে। এটাই এখন পর্যন্ত আমার পড়া ম্যাকন্যালি সিরিজের সবচেয়ে বিরক্তিকর বই।
August 20, 2015
Archie McNally never disappoint me!
What a dandy! It took me all of 2 days to read this book. Great plot, well written, verbose to the level we are accustomed to with Sanders. Recommended read!
What a dandy! It took me all of 2 days to read this book. Great plot, well written, verbose to the level we are accustomed to with Sanders. Recommended read!
December 24, 2008
Once you get to know Archy and his family you just want to keep seeing the "tangeled web" that is always constantlly being woven.
January 29, 2025
Another great Archie McNally adventure in Palm Beach
January 9, 2018
"I won't tell you where she held the mistletoe."
McNally's Gamble (1997) is the fourth installment of Lawrence Sanders' Archy McNally series that I am reviewing here on Goodreads and the least successful of the four. While the novel is quite strong on humor and the pleasantly flowery language is a joy to read the plot is not engrossing at all and the strange twists at the end seem artificial and lame.
After an awkward "criminal anecdote" only loosely connected with the plot the novel begins with Archy buying Courvoisier for his father's birthday. Of course Mr. Sanders' readers know that the father is the boss of a legal firm in Palm Beach, Florida, where Archy is the only employee of the Discreet Inquiries Department. One of the firm's wealthy clients, Mrs. Westmore, is planning to buy a Fabergé egg from a seller in Paris on recommendation of an investment advisor. Archy's discreet inquiries are focused on the advisor's bona fides and the soundness of the transaction. Later in the plot we meet Mrs. Westmore's adult children and we learn that the money she is planning to spend for the egg could be more productively used to finance her son's paleontology research on the origins of bipedalism. The plot becomes more serious when one of the characters marginally involved in the planned transaction is murdered.
Of course, this being an Archy McNally novel we cannot get away without some tactfully and delightfully told sex passages. Not only does Archy have a good time with his steady partner Connie, but we also are shown a glimpse of The Paroxysm of the Collapsing Cot that occurs during Archy's coupling with yet another fan of his manly charms. The reader will also learn about a rather imbalanced marriage between two of the characters in the plot, where an uxorious husband is juxtaposed with a concupiscent wife. Hey, three long words in one simple sentence! I am expanding my English vocabulary...
Unfortunately Binky Watrous also participates in the events: this slows the plot down and the meager comedic payout does not justify the many, many pages of text, dedicated to this least interesting of all Archy McNally regulars. Another weakness is the character of Natalie Westmore - totally implausible to me. On the positive side I love the reference to The Rule of Seventy-Two (I often mention it when teaching calculus) which is used for testing the legitimacy of a financial advisor.
The novel is worth reading only for the florid prose. To use the author's own phrasing the inanity of the plot gasts my flabber.
Two stars.
McNally's Gamble (1997) is the fourth installment of Lawrence Sanders' Archy McNally series that I am reviewing here on Goodreads and the least successful of the four. While the novel is quite strong on humor and the pleasantly flowery language is a joy to read the plot is not engrossing at all and the strange twists at the end seem artificial and lame.
After an awkward "criminal anecdote" only loosely connected with the plot the novel begins with Archy buying Courvoisier for his father's birthday. Of course Mr. Sanders' readers know that the father is the boss of a legal firm in Palm Beach, Florida, where Archy is the only employee of the Discreet Inquiries Department. One of the firm's wealthy clients, Mrs. Westmore, is planning to buy a Fabergé egg from a seller in Paris on recommendation of an investment advisor. Archy's discreet inquiries are focused on the advisor's bona fides and the soundness of the transaction. Later in the plot we meet Mrs. Westmore's adult children and we learn that the money she is planning to spend for the egg could be more productively used to finance her son's paleontology research on the origins of bipedalism. The plot becomes more serious when one of the characters marginally involved in the planned transaction is murdered.
Of course, this being an Archy McNally novel we cannot get away without some tactfully and delightfully told sex passages. Not only does Archy have a good time with his steady partner Connie, but we also are shown a glimpse of The Paroxysm of the Collapsing Cot that occurs during Archy's coupling with yet another fan of his manly charms. The reader will also learn about a rather imbalanced marriage between two of the characters in the plot, where an uxorious husband is juxtaposed with a concupiscent wife. Hey, three long words in one simple sentence! I am expanding my English vocabulary...
Unfortunately Binky Watrous also participates in the events: this slows the plot down and the meager comedic payout does not justify the many, many pages of text, dedicated to this least interesting of all Archy McNally regulars. Another weakness is the character of Natalie Westmore - totally implausible to me. On the positive side I love the reference to The Rule of Seventy-Two (I often mention it when teaching calculus) which is used for testing the legitimacy of a financial advisor.
The novel is worth reading only for the florid prose. To use the author's own phrasing the inanity of the plot gasts my flabber.
Two stars.
May 7, 2025
3- 3,5⭐️ Buen libro. Pasé un buen rato pero nada más. Me gustó, lo volvería a leer y lo recomendaría. Pero no llega a encantarme.
Emmm fue raro de leer al principio, pasé de leer un libro escrito por una mujer del siglo XXI a uno de un hombre del siglo XX, es bastante contrastante.
Aunque me gusta el humor ácido que tiene, no me gustaba demasiado como vivía comentando sobre cuerpos ajenos o descripciones muy incomodas.
Al principio no me entretuvo demasiado pero por alguna razón quería seguir leyendo y me gustan las hojas manchadas y el aroma a libro viejo que tiene.
“El 90% de casos resueltos por la policía no son fruto de una investigación inteligente sino de la estupidez de los delincuentes”
nota: “El secuestro es uno de los delitos más despreciables del triste espectro de las transgresiones humanas.”
Justo leí“El niño resentido”, y termina preso por un secuestro. Necesito un descanso de esto.
No se que más decir, sabes como va a terminar desde el principio y lees esperando eso. Es entretenido pero no mucho más, predecible pero carismático.
Emmm fue raro de leer al principio, pasé de leer un libro escrito por una mujer del siglo XXI a uno de un hombre del siglo XX, es bastante contrastante.
Aunque me gusta el humor ácido que tiene, no me gustaba demasiado como vivía comentando sobre cuerpos ajenos o descripciones muy incomodas.
Al principio no me entretuvo demasiado pero por alguna razón quería seguir leyendo y me gustan las hojas manchadas y el aroma a libro viejo que tiene.
“El 90% de casos resueltos por la policía no son fruto de una investigación inteligente sino de la estupidez de los delincuentes”
nota: “El secuestro es uno de los delitos más despreciables del triste espectro de las transgresiones humanas.”
Justo leí“El niño resentido”, y termina preso por un secuestro. Necesito un descanso de esto.
No se que más decir, sabes como va a terminar desde el principio y lees esperando eso. Es entretenido pero no mucho más, predecible pero carismático.
March 10, 2017
Archy McNally is enlisted by his father to enter into a discreet investigation regarding a new financial advisor for one of McNally & son’s wealthy client. Normally this type of investigation would be made on the behest of a family member; so, this becomes a doubly discreet investigation, that is until the Westmore children come to McNally & Son hoping to stop what they fear is a one half million dollar scam, especially when the Westmore son could use those funds to continue his research.
Archy believes that the Faberge Egg that Edythe Westmore is to purchase is a fake, but can he prove his theory?
This is one of those books that I call a relief book; you don’t really have to think about what you’re reading (what a relief!)
Archy believes that the Faberge Egg that Edythe Westmore is to purchase is a fake, but can he prove his theory?
This is one of those books that I call a relief book; you don’t really have to think about what you’re reading (what a relief!)
August 28, 2017
This was my first exposure to the Archy McNally series by Lawrence Sanders, and it certainly won't be the last. The 'hero', Archy McNally is an investigator in his father's law firm, and here he gets involved with what looks to be a major swindle, centered around one of the Faberge eggs. Of course the story becomes much more involved as it develops, and Archy seems to bumble his way through to the conclusion. Archy perhaps most closely resembles Berty Wooster (P.G.Woodhouse), with a bit of Lord Peter Wimsey thrown in. The writing is bright and often humorous, but always heading straight ahead toward resolution. I am looking forward to more in this series, especially after I have plowed through a more serious book. Greatly enjoyable.
October 2, 2021
The Last of the Best
Finally obtained it. Arch McNally and the new words of the day just flow smoothly & effortlessly when Mr Sanders writes them, and they should’ve ended it here. Maybe the most obvious plot among the first seven of this series, you wonder about Mr Sander’s state when he was doing this, and it’s unfortunate they really wanted six more novels to milk this franchise. So be it. Enjoy this last real one.
Finally obtained it. Arch McNally and the new words of the day just flow smoothly & effortlessly when Mr Sanders writes them, and they should’ve ended it here. Maybe the most obvious plot among the first seven of this series, you wonder about Mr Sander’s state when he was doing this, and it’s unfortunate they really wanted six more novels to milk this franchise. So be it. Enjoy this last real one.
March 19, 2019
I read this in anticipation of attending an actual physical book club. The book was very much of its time (1990's) and an amusing caper. Lightweight live-at-home playboy investigates scam in upper class Palm Beach. He must limit his flirtations to women with their own flats (but I have only read this entry in the series).
November 15, 2021
Mr Sanders had the character down to a easy finesse on his part, by this point, I think. Sadly, I believe this was his last McNally novel. What I really like is what a fun, light read they are. I will try the Vincent Lardo novels with the same character, but there is some melancholy in knowing they will not be Mr. Sanders' efforts.
November 7, 2023
A will written mystery
A will written mystery with interesting well developed characters. Once again the usual characters enter into an entertaining fast moving mystery which Archy manages too bring too a successful conclusion. I would recommend this novel and the series too anyone who enjoys an old fashion mystery. Enjoy reading 2015
I read this as an e-book from the local library
A will written mystery with interesting well developed characters. Once again the usual characters enter into an entertaining fast moving mystery which Archy manages too bring too a successful conclusion. I would recommend this novel and the series too anyone who enjoys an old fashion mystery. Enjoy reading 2015
I read this as an e-book from the local library
June 30, 2021
The last of this series written by Lawrence Sanders, it was just as delightful as the others. Sometimes you want to bop Archie on the head, but he says what he is and what more can you do? Connie!! Find a new beau!
March 21, 2024
Mr Lawrence’s books are a pleasure to read from beginning to end. They are wildly funny and irresistibly clever. He has warm smart characters with lots of humor and heart. This novel centers around a Faberge egg and a family of vipers
Great read!
Great read!
November 6, 2024
I started off annoyed by the protagonist's silly, flowery speech. By the end, I was chuckling at it. And by the end, I was impressed at how cleverly the plot was woven. If you can get over the 'over-the-top' vocabulary, Sanders creates a fun read.
July 8, 2017
Another wonderfully descriptive crime caper involving the rich and infamous of Palm beach brought to a hugely successful conclusion by A McNally Esq.
October 24, 2017
All of the books in this series are quick easy reads that are enjoyable.
November 16, 2018
I love Archy. The perfect diversion when you need an entertaining read. I hope the followup author does as well as LS
August 23, 2019
Written as if the author had swallowed a thesaurus and farted it out the other end but I still wanted to know how the mystery wrapped up so I chugged on
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews